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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 15, 2018 19:01:29 GMT -5
I really like K2 Jasper but always have trouble finding good slabs. A seller at a show these weekend had 2 trays full of imported cabs. The cabs were about the worst quality I have seen. No two cabs were the same height, no two cabs had similar height girdles if any at all and all of them had horrible flat spots all over. I bought all of the ones that looked like I would be able to rework into decent pieces. The advantage to buying them this was that at least have a preview of the possibility. The price I worked out made it well worth the effort. I bought them Saturday and had this one re-cabbed and wrapped to show the seller on Sunday. He offered to trade me more cabs for the wrapped piece but I had already bought all the ones I wanted. He did not try to defend the quality of the cabs. He just imports them so he has no control. I see in the pictures that my side cutters are getting bad. The cut on the inside of the swirl looks bad in a closeup.    These are the cabs I bought to work with. some less then 3/16 thick and some as thick as 3/8. They do not look bad in the photo but are horrible to the touch.  Thanks for looking Chuck |
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Post by MsAli on Oct 15, 2018 20:16:57 GMT -5
Really nice job on reworking those
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 15, 2018 20:22:00 GMT -5
I have never worked K2 because I haven't seen it anywhere to buy, but I would have done the same things as you did if I came across those cabs. Nice job on the pendant! Get yourself a pair of flush cutters.  |
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 15, 2018 20:33:05 GMT -5
I have never worked K2 because I haven't seen it anywhere to buy, but I would have done the same things as you did if I came across those cabs. Nice job on the pendant! Get yourself a pair of flush cutters. Thanks. That cut was made with swanstrom super-flush cutters. Either I flinched on the cut or they have gone bad. Really only noticeable in the photo. I'll make test cuts next time I use them. I would have filed that spot if I seen it before hand. Chuck |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 15, 2018 21:32:58 GMT -5
Swanstroms are good cutters. Have a pair myself (not the super flush ones, tho). That would stink if they went wonky. The problem with close up photos is they show stuff like that. Hate when that happens!
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Post by fernwood on Oct 16, 2018 4:28:48 GMT -5
Nice job on the save.
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 16, 2018 13:43:15 GMT -5
Good save! I have been known to grab decent material to recab, too. I got a large cherry red gem bone once with THEE worse cut. Easy to recut. It's a keeper now.
I had some swanstrom cutters with the carbide tips. They broke in no time. I will never buy swanstrom cutters again, but I DO love their pliers. It used to be 20.00 to send swantrom back for refurbishing. Probably more now. i would look into it.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 16, 2018 13:59:07 GMT -5
Good save! I have been known to grab decent material to recab, too. I got a large cherry red gem bone once with THEE worse cut. Easy to recut. It's a keeper now. I had some swanstrom cutters with the carbide tips. They broke in no time. I will never buy swanstrom cutters again, but I DO love their pliers. It used to be 20.00 to send swantrom back for refurbishing. Probably more now. i would look into it. I made at least a dozen test cuts last night on scrap wire with no issues. Must have been a hiccup on my part. If I had noticed it I would have just cut that tail a little shorter to correct it. The spring on my cutters broke awhile ago so it is probably time to make a small investment anyway. Chuck |
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